Read the text and decide which answer best fits each gap.
Traffic in our cities
The volume of traffic in many cities in the world today continues to expand. This causes many problems, including serious air pollution, lengthy delays, and the greater risk of accidents. Clearly, something must be done, but it is often difficult to people to change their habits and leave their cars at home.
One possible approach is to make it more expensive for people to use their cars by changes for parking and tougher fines for anyone who breaks the law. In addition, drivers could be required to pay for using particular routes at different times of the day. This system, also known as 'road pricing', is already being introduced in a of cities, using a special electronic card to windscreen of the car.
Another way of with the problem is to provide cheap parking on the outskirts of the city, and strictly control the number of vehicles allowed into the center. Drivers and their passengers then use a special bus service for the final stage of their journey.
Of course, the most important thing is to provide good public transport. However, to get people to the comfort of their cars, public transport must be felt to be reliable, convenient, and comfortable, with fares at an acceptable level.
Read the text and think of the word which best fits each gap. Use only ONE word in each gap.
THE LONDON MARATHON
The London Marathon is one of the best-known long-distance races in the world. Some of the famous long-distance runners have competed in it. But makes it different from many other great sporting events is the fact that ordinary people can take part alongside international stars.
The race was the idea of Chris Brasher, a former Olympic athlete. In 1979, friends told him about the New York Marathon, during which the runners are encouraged to carry to the end of the course by the enthusiastic shouts of the spectators. He flew to the USA to run in the race and was so impressed by that he decided to organise a similar event in Britain. Many problems to be overcome before the first London Marathon took place in 1981. Chris Brasher still takes a keen interest in the event, even though he is no the organiser.
A total of around 300,000 runners have completed the race, with a record of 25,194 finishing in 1984. Numbers are limited the streets of London are too narrow to accommodate all those who would like to run. Each year more than 70,000 apply the 26,000 places in the race. Hundreds of thousands of spectators line the route and at least a hundred countries televise it. Over the years, since the first race was held, an estimated £75 million has been raised for charity by the runners.
Read the text and use the word given in capitals at each gap to form a word that fits in each gap.
Sport in society
The position of sport in today's society has changed out of all recognition. People no longer seem to think of sport as 'just a game' — to be watched or played for the sake of (ENJOY). Instead, it has become big business worldwide. It has become accepted practice for (LEAD) companies to provide sponsorship. TV companies pay large sums of money to screen important matches or (COMPETE). The result has been huge (FINANCE) rewards for athletes, some of whom are now very (WEALTH), particularly top footballers, golfers and tennis players. In addition, it is not unusual for some athletes to receive large fees on top of their salary, for advertising products or making personal appearances.
A trend towards shorter working hours means that people (GENERAL) tend to have more free time, both to watch and to take part in sporting activity; sport has become a (SIGNIFY) part of the recreation industry that we now rely on to fill our leisure hours. Professional sport is a vital part of that industry, providing (PLEASE) for millions of ordinary people all over the world.
Complete the second sentence so that it has a similar meaning to the first sentence, using the word given. Do not change the word given. You must use between two and five words, including the word given.
You shouldn't take any notice of his advice. (LISTEN)
=> If I were you, his advice.
Complete the second sentence so that it has a similar meaning to the first sentence, using the word given. Do not change the word given. You must use between two and five words, including the word given.
Sometimes tiredness causes the machine operators to make mistakes. (BECAUSE)
=> Sometimes mistakes the tiredness of the machine operators.
Complete the second sentence so that it has a similar meaning to the first sentence, using the word given. Do not change the word given. You must use between two and five words, including the word given.
"Do fast cars interest you?" the dealer asked Sarah. (WAS)
=> The dealer asked Sarah fast cars.
Complete the second sentence so that it has a similar meaning to the first sentence, using the word given. Do not change the word given. You must use between two and five words, including the word given.
People estimate that the painting is worth over a million pounds. (ESTIMATED)
=> The painting over a million pounds.
Complete the second sentence so that it has a similar meaning to the first sentence, using the word given. Do not change the word given. You must use between two and five words, including the word given.
A newly qualified dentist took out Mr Dupont's tooth. (HAD)
=> Mr Dupont by a newly qualified dentist.
Complete the second sentence so that it has a similar meaning to the first sentence, using the word given. Do not change the word given. You must use between two and five words, including the word given.
I couldn't understand the instructions for my new DVD player. (SENSE)
=> The instructions for my new DVD player didn't me.
You are going to read a newspaper article about a musical family. Choose the answer which you think fits best according to the text.
Meet the Amazing Watkins Family
The sons are composers and prize-winning musicians, while Dad makes the instruments. Matthew Rye reports.
Whole families of musicians are not exactly rare. However, it is unusual to come across one that includes not only writers and performers of music, but also an instrument maker.
When South Wales school teachers John and Hetty Watkins needed to get their ten-year-old son, Paul, a cello to suit his blossoming talents, they baulked at the costs involved, 'We had a look at various dealers and it was obvious it was going to be very expensive,' John says. 'So I wondered if I could actually make one, I discovered that the Welsh School of Instrument Making was not far from where I lived, and I went along for evening classes once a week for about three years.'
'After probably three or four goes with violins and violas, he had a crack at his first cello,' Paul, now 28, adds, 'It turned out really well. He made mean other one a bit later, when he'd got the hang of it. And that's the one I used right up until a few months ago.' John has since retired as a teacher to work as a full-time craftsman, and makes up to a dozen violins a year selling one to the esteemed American player Jaime Laredo was 'the icing on the cake'.
Both Paul and his younger brother, Huw, were encouraged to play music from an early age. The piano came first: 'As soon as I was big enough to climb up and bang the keys, that's what it did,' Paul remembers. But it wasn't long before the cello beckoned. 'My folks were really quite keen for me to take up the violin, because Dad, who played the viola, used to play chamber music with his mates and they needed another violin to make up a string trio. I learned it for about six weeks but didn't take to it. But I really took to the character who played the cello in Dad's group. I thought he was a very cool guy when I was or seven, so he said he'd give me some lessons, and that really started it all off. Later, they suggested that my brother play the violin too, but he would have none of it.'
'My parents were both supportive and relaxed,' Huw says. 'I don't think I would have responded very well to being pushed. And, rather than feeling threatened by Paul's success, I found that I had something to aspire to.' Now 22, he is beginning to make his own mark as a pianist and composer.
Meanwhile, John Watkins' cello has done his elder proud. With it, Paul won the string final of the BBC Young Musician of the Year competition. Then, at the remarkably youthful age of he was appointed principal cellist of the BBC Symphony Orchestra, a position he held, still playing his father's instrument, until last year. Now, however, he has acquired a Francesco Rugeri cello, on loan from the Royal Academy of Music. 'Dad's not said anything about me moving on, though recently he had the chance to run a bow across the strings of each in turn and had to admit that my new one is quite nice! I think the only thing Dad's doesn't have - and may acquire after about 50-100 years - is the power to project right to the back of large concert halls. It will get richer with age, like my Rugeri, which is already 304 years old.'
Soon he will be seen on television playing the Rugeri as the soloist in Elgar's Cello Concerto, which forms the heart of the second programme in the new series, Masterworks. 'The well-known performance history doesn't affect the way I play the work,' he says. 'I'm always going to do it my way.' But Paul won't be able to watch himself on television the same night he is playing at the Cheltenham Festival. Nor will Huw, whose String Quartet is receiving its London premiere at the Wigmore Hall the same evening. John and Hetty will have to be diplomatic - and energetic - if they are to keep track of all their sons' musical activities over the coming weeks.
Why did John Watkins decide to make a cello?
What is meant by 'crack' in the third paragraph?
Paul first became interested in playing the cello because _____.
What do we learn about Huw's musical development?
What does Paul say about the Rugeri cello?
What does Paul say about his performance of Elgar's Cello Concerto?
You are going to read a newspaper article about a board game called 'pichenotte'. Six sentences have been removed from the article. Choose from the sentences A - G the one which fits each gap. There is one extra sentence which you do not need to use.
A. This idea always brings a smile to the face of Mrs Lagasse, at 70 still an excellent player herself.
B. Made of birchwood and mahogany, each weighs 12 kg and is 1 cm thick.
C. Pichenotte, which can be played by two to four people, is clearly a game of skill.
D. But Grandpa's pichenotte board, which he'd made out of old wooden food crates, was not forgotten and they continued to play regularly.
E. When people started asking about the origins of the game, Dave decided to do some research.
F. So much so that championships began to take place and a trophy called the 'Lord Pichenotte Cup' was created.
G. Curious as to how great the interest might be, one night the brothers took one of Dave's new game boards to a sports bar in Santa Fe.
Onto a winner
Two brothers are finding that their childhood game is very good for business.
Dave and Norm Lagasse, two bushy-bearded brothers in their forties, are sitting in their modest home in Fe in New Mexico, USA, and reliving their childhood, In front of them lies a. wooden hoard covered in round plastic pieces. They are playing the ancient game of pichenotte, one which, they insist, is unlike any other.
Their grandfather, Lucien Rajotte, a grocer originally from Quebec, Canada, brought the game into the USA and introduced it to his family It wasn't long before, on just about every weekend and holiday, the family were playing the game and, as Dave says, 'having the best time ever'. Eventually, the family moved to New Mexico. If visitors dropped by they were often fascinated, for the game was completely unknown in southern USA.
One day, three years ago, Dave set up the ancient pichenotte board and, realising how cracked and battered it had become, decided to make a new one. This turned out to be a beauty. A relative noticed and wanted one. Then a friend wanted another. 'People there started to watch,' Says Dave, 'and say, "No way I'm playing that silly game." Then they'd sit down, and pretty soon you couldn't get them up from the table'.
The roots, he discovered, were probably in India, where a similar game called 'carroms' exists. That was adapted into a game called 'squails' which was played in pubs in Britain and, a century ago, British people emigrating to Canada brought the game with them. Pichenotte is the name of the French-Canadian version of the game that developed in Quebec.
'Each competitor gets 12 pieces or 'pucks'. These are 'flicked' across wheel-like board using the middle or index finger of one hand. Flicking a puck into a small hole is worth 20 points. Three concentric rings around the hole are worth 15, 10 and 5, respectively. Eight tiny posts present obstacles. The game usually lasts just two minutes.
When they saw how popular the game was at the Santa Fe bar, the Lagasses made a couple more boards and took them to markets and craft fairs. Crowds gathered, money changed hands and the game's popularity grew. With word spreading more widely, the boards began to sell as fast as the brothers could make them. Eventually, they decided to go into the pichenotte business full-time.
They set up a workshop in the garage of their house and started turning out boards. More than 450 have been produced to date. As Norm explains, 'They're very durable, as they have to stand up to lots of wear.' They are available, at $595 each, from the brothers' website.
As yet, there are no professional pichenotte players or TV coverage to produce pichenotte celebrities. Nonetheless, the day is not far off when the brothers' garage will be home to a luxury Mercedes rather than a saw and piles of wood. Until then, they're happy to spend their off-duty hours playing the game they hope will make their fortune.
You are going to read a magazine article about theme parks in Britain. Choose the section that contains the information in each question. The sections may be chosen more than once.
Variations on a Theme
If you're thinking of taking children to a theme park, there are dozens to choose from in Britain. We asked four families to test the best.
A. Fun Island - The Burns family
Last year we went to a huge theme park in the US and we thought that Fun Island might seem dull by comparison. In fact, we were impressed. The park tries hard to eater for younger children, so our three-year-old didn't feel left out. The kids all loved the Crocodile Ride and the Giant Wheel. There's a special dodgems ride for the very young kids, which was a great success. For older children, there are scarier rides, such as Splash Out, where you end up jumping in a pool! After five hours, Steve and I were ready to call it a day, but the children objected because they were having such run. Our only criticism would be that the park is slightly lacking in atmosphere, and the scenery leaves something to be desired. But the staff are extremely helpful and we felt it was clean, well organised and very security-conscious.
B. Wonderland - The McMillan family
None of us had been to a theme park before, so we didn't know what to expect. We thought Oscar might be too young, but he adored it. He was in heaven on the Mountain Train, and particularly liked Little Land, with its small replicas of famous buildings that were at his level! The older children enjoyed the ferris wheel, and loved driving the toy cars on a proper road layout. We spent six hours there and were glad that there were places where you could put your feet up. The landscaping is perfect and the staff very helpful and friendly. And there's something for everyone, adults included.
C. Adventure World - The Jeffree family
After seven hours we felt there was still a lot to see. The children loved the Big Top Circus, which had a fantastic trapeze act and kept us on the edge of our seals. We went on the Terror Line and, although the girls were rather scared and kept their eyes shut most the time, they said they'd enjoyed it. Their favourite ride was Running River, where you think you're going to get soaked, but you don't. For younger children, Toy Land is great fun. The children had a look at the new ride, Fear Factor, but we breathed a sigh of relief when they found that they were too small to go on it! The park is so well designed that even queuing for rides isn't too boring. It's spotlessly clean, and the staff are great. On one ride I couldn't sit with both girls, so a member of staff offered to go with one of them.
D. The Great Park - The Langridge family
We arrived at one o'clock and were disappointed that the park was only open until 5 p.m. This is a super theme park for younger children because the rides aren't too terrifying. I'm a coward but even I enjoyed myself. We all adored Exotic Travels, a boat ride which starts off quite lamely and then becomes terrific run. We queued for half an hour for Lightning River, and then it was over before we knew it! I wouldn't go on the Big Leap, but if you have the nerve, it looked great. If the children had been a little older, they might have found it a bit tame, but they were all in the right age group and they loved it.
Which family had no previous experience of places like theme parks?
In which theme parks some of the children showed they were frightened on a certain ride?
In which theme parks it was good that you could find somewhere to rest?
Which theme parks was more enjoyable than the family had expected?
In which theme parks the surroundings are not particularly attractive?
Which family didn't mind having to wait to go on the rides?
Which family's children wanted to stay longer than they did?
In which theme parks one of the rides seemed to finish very quickly?
Which family were glad that the children couldn't go on a certain ride?
In which theme parks none of the rides would frighten young children very much?